Wedded Bliss
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "So can't you like me too?" And as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell, he tucked his hands into his trouser pockets before turning on his heels to walk away. I stared at his retreating back for a moment, trying to wrap my mind around everything.
1. Wedded Bliss

Weddings, generally acknowledged as a once in a lifetime event, were supposed to magical and if you listened to the wedding planner, each one had something different and special about them. But why did they all seem the same to me?

There was the usual white dress, the same ridiculous sort of cake, and the obnoxious kids running around the place as their parents took the chance to socialise. Even though the wedding was my aunt's, I could admit that it was boring. Although I kept that thought to myself – she'd turned into a right Bridezilla whilst planning the wedding. I suppose that it was a small mercy that she had accepted my refusal to act as her flower girl with nothing more than a disappointed sigh. But didn't she understand; I was in my _fourth_ year now – far too old to be acting as a flower girl.

But no matter how I thought about it; weddings, in general, were just too boring. Now that the ceremony itself was over, we had joined the rest of the guests for the reception but at some point, my parents had disappeared to talk to some of their friends and my older sister was no better. Her boyfriend had arrived and whisked her off her feet and onto the dance floor, leaving me alone at the table. I contemplated rising from my seat to behave socially as well, but a quick glance around the room told me that I knew very few people at the wedding. Rowena, hardly any of them were around my age anyway.

I reached out to take a sip of my juice when the chair beside mine was pulled out from beneath the table. Turning towards it, I watched in surprise as a dark-haired boy settled down beside me. When he turned towards me, I very vaguely recognised him as the Gryffindor chaser who had aided his team to win the last game against Hufflepuff by an overwhelming lead. Waiting patiently to see what he wanted, I drew a little further away from him when he grinned suddenly.

"You go to Hogwarts, right?" he asked abruptly, pushing some of his hair out from his face when it fell into his eyes. He knew the knew answer to the question – the way he was looking at me told me that. But why did he see the need to ask it in the first place? Nodding anyway, I was unsure why his grin grew even more as if that was possible. Merlin, what was Potter smiling so brightly about? "I think I sat behind you in Charms last year?"

He tilted his head curiously at the prolonged silence that greeted his question. Thinking for a minute, I answered truthfully, "I honestly have no idea."

"Maybe not then." He shrugged, seeming to accept the answer. Angling his body towards my own, Potter pressed an arm against the table as he watched me closely. "So, what are you doing here Guaman?"

"It's a _wedding_ ," I said slowly, watching him strangely, "What do you _think_ I'm doing here?"

Snorting quietly, he eyed me with a new light in his eyes. One corner of his lips lifted as he tried to fight a smile. "I knew there was a personality in there somewhere."

Pointedly ignoring his downright rude remark, I narrowed my eyes at him, "What are _you_ doing here then?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," he admitted with a sigh that I wanted to mirror. "Mum used to play on the same Quidditch team as the bride and I guess they kept in touch. The moment mum got the invite, she practically ordered dad to clear his schedule the day."

As if to prove his point, he gestured across the room to where his parents were sat talking to some of the other wedding guests. A girl – his younger sister, I assumed – was busy devouring her slice of cake but his brother was nowhere to be seen. Feeling the weight of his eyes on me, I shifted my gaze back to Potter's face.

"This is my aunt's wedding," I answered his unasked question.

"Ah." He leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingers against the table as he cast a glance over the room. "I can practically hear your thoughts Guaman – you're wondering why I decided to act like an idiot and sit next to you."

"I'm actually wondering whether you're part narcissist – we've spoken how many words to each other? And you assume I'm thinking about you?"

Laughing quietly at that, he shook his head before admitting, "You're the only other person here that's similar in age to me – apart from my siblings of course. I needed someone to occupy me for a while."

"I know the feeling," I admitted begrudgingly just as I heard his mother call for him.

Potter heard it too and he rose to his feet with a reluctant sigh. Remaining seated, I looked up at him curiously when he didn't immediately head over to join his mother at her side. Tucking his hands into his trouser pockets, Potter looked down at me with a warm smile.

"I'll see you at school?" I just nodded in response and took the time to watch his retreating back.

Naturally, as the son of the 'saviour of the wizarding world', a lot of rumours circulated around the school about Potter. They claimed that the blood of a lion ran through his veins, that he was bound to be the bravest member of the house – or the most idiotic some would argue. But they'd never mentioned quite how strange he was.

The rumours painted him as someone that was arrogant, and easily lost in his own pride – but they didn't even mention how friendly he was. I guess that was why they said to never listen to rumours.

* * *

How many times a year did people attend weddings? Why did it seem like I was forced to go to one whenever I came back from school? And now that it was the end of my fifth year and the summer holiday had officially begun, I was almost afraid of how many wedding invitations I had seen stacked in the corner of the room. Then again, summer weddings were a popular thing, regardless of the year.

Thankfully, I wasn't one of the only teens in the room. In fact, it seemed like most of Ravenclaw house had been forced to attend by their families and there was no shortage of conversation partners to make the wedding fly by. Maybe the bride's wish to have an extravagant was a blessing in disguise?

I stood beside my mother as she talked to one of her long-lost friends and frowned down at my empty cup. Ducking away to get a refill, I weaved through the kids who were running around the room in a game of tag before reaching the table of drinks in the corner of the room. Picking up the glass of juice that was closest to me, I frowned when it was plucked easily out of my hand.

"Excuse me, but that's … mine," I trailed off as I turned to face Potter who was busy drinking from _my_ glass.

Tutting quietly, I picked up another glass of juice before turning to look at the boy who so clearly had something he wanted to say. Potter took a long drink from the cup, smiling teasingly as he lowered it. Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but smile back.

"Why is it that you're only willing to talk to me during weddings," he wondered aloud, making me furrow my eyebrows at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at you acting so innocently," he laughed, shaking his head slightly. But it wasn't a mean laugh or an offended one. It was like he was genuinely amused, and I took another minute to look at him carefully; was he always so easy to get along with? "I tried to approach you _so_ many times throughout the last year."

"But you didn't," I tried to protest, only for the words to fall on deaf ears.

"You gave me the cold shoulder every time Guaman."

Setting my glass back down on the table, I barely resisted the urge to put my hands on my hips as I insisted, "You didn't try to approach me, Potter. Not even once."

He frowned at me, "Why would I lie about something like this? Do you really have no idea? Hell, my friends even started calling you the ice queen because of how coldly you used to brush past me without even a second glance in my direction."

The nickname was one I didn't deserve, and I wanted to tell him as much. But it didn't seem like the right time to, and if they were already calling me ice queen, I didn't think that they were going to change it that quickly. Instead, I sighed and mumbled, "I honestly didn't even notice you."

Potter looked at me seriously, as if only just contemplating that I really hadn't noticed him, that I hadn't ever thought to put that much importance on whether or not he approached me. And then he began to smile as if he hadn't been frowning only seconds ago. "I promise to try harder."

"Whatever you say."

Setting his glass – the one he stole from me – aside, he tucked his hands into his pockets. Rocking back on his heels slightly, he asked, "Everyone claims to have some sort of far-fetched relation to the bride and groom; what's yours?"

"My dad works with the groom," I said, looking across the room to where my father was talking to the man of the day. "They're on the same Auror team."

Potter chuckled and when I glanced curiously at him, he explained, "Mine too – what a coincidence, huh?"

He looked towards the groom too and I did the same. Only this time noticing the third man standing beside my dad. Sure enough, the infamous scar on his forehead gave his identity away. The groom must have said something funny as both older men reached out to thump his shoulders with a chuckle.

The Gryffindor at my side cleared his throat, and I turned towards him to meet his waiting eyes. When I faced him, his smile widened slightly and adopting that mischievous edge that I'd heard so much about. Potter leaned in towards me, not noticing the way I shifted back from him slightly at the abrupt action.

"Do me a favour?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"What is it?" I asked warily, drawing further away from him. Gryffindor house was certainly full of blabbermouths; once something happened in Gryffindor tower, it circulated around the entire school. That was the reason why I knew _all_ about the type of favours that Potter could ask of someone. The last time he'd called in a favour from his brother, the younger Potter needed to switch his Slytherin uniform with a Gryffindor one for a week.

His smile pulled up further at one side; that didn't look good. "Just say yes or no and then I'll tell you."

"Potter – I, _fine_. Now, what is it?"

"Next time, don't avoid me." He grinned abruptly, reaching out to tuck some of the hair that had fallen out of my bun, behind my ear. Swallowing nervously, I felt my eyes widen but nodded without another word. Potter drew back with a laugh and turned to leave.

Realising what I'd agreed to, I called out from behind him, "But I _wasn't_ avoiding you in the first place!"

"Doesn't matter," he said between chuckles as he turned to face me, continuing to walk backwards and not seeing the way the other guests had to swerve out of his way. "You promised Guaman!"

"I don't remember making a promise," I grumbled under my breath, even as I fought the urge to smile.

* * *

Within Ravenclaw tower, it was almost tradition for the students in the year above to pass down advice as each school year began. And the one piece of advice that the now seventh years continued to repeat, was that the lessons in sixth year were _much_ more intense than those in the previous years. Merlin, they hadn't lied.

We'd been back at school for just a few days so how was it that those few lessons were much more intense than the ones we'd ever had before? As I walked into my Defence class for the first time this year, I was worried about just what this class had in store for me. Listening to my friend as he chattered beside me, we headed towards our visual seats in the middle of the room.

Rummaging through my bag, I startled when he nudged me roughly with his elbow. Without lifting my head, I asked, "What? Why are you jabbing me with those sharp weapons of yours?"

Everett didn't say a word and instead nudged me again. Turning towards him with a frown, I raised an eyebrow when he gestured to something with his head. "Merlin's beard Everett, you've got a mouth. Use it!"

"I think he's trying to get you to look at me," a voice confided.

Glancing towards the voice, my eyebrows rose in surprise when I found Potter standing in front of our desk. He grinned down at me, eyes sparkling as he waited for me to say something.

"You're in this class too?" His expression shifted as if he hadn't expected me to say that.

But he didn't let it throw him. Crossing his arms, he used them to prop himself against the table as he leaned towards me. He didn't seem to care about the strange looks he was getting from the other members of the class as he teased, "Why? Did you not think that I could get into this class? My dad's an Auror, Guaman."

"So's mine," I reminded him. "But that doesn't mean I actually enjoy Defence."

"Then why take the subject?"

"You're awfully nosy," I said pointedly but he just shrugged innocently.

"If you continue to talk to me you'll end up finding out much more about me."

"Honestly," I muttered under my breath, stifling a smile. "What do you want?"

"I just thought I'd test whether you'd ignore me again this time," he declared playfully and laughed outright when I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I thought I told you that I wasn't avoiding you?" He shrugged, and I made a face, muttering, "You're really annoying, Potter."

"You're not the first person to say that about me," he admitted easily as if he was simply discussing the weather.

"Question remains; why are you bothering _me_?"

"What are friends for?"

"We're friends?" I asked bluntly, watching as he reared back a little as if the words had been a physical slap to the face.

It didn't phase him for long before he asked with a smile, "If we're not friends, then what are we?"

"Acquaintances." The single word seemed to seriously offend him, and I hurried to defend myself. "We've only really spoken _twice_ Potter."

"Fine, then I guess we'll just have to become friends."

"I don't make friends easily," I warned. "I'm rather picky about the people I'm friends with. And I'm afraid you don't make the cut."

He laughed at that, leaning back towards me again as he asked, "Let me be the exception?"

And this time I couldn't help but laugh. Reaching out to push him away, I started a little when he caught my outstretched hand and held it for a moment before dropping it abruptly. Pulling my hand back to my side, I simply watched him for a moment.

"I'm taking your silence for an acceptance," he warned, just as our professor walked into the classroom.

"Even if I said something you wouldn't have listened to me anyway," I pointed out.

"You're right," he agreed in a heartbeat, drawing away from the desk as our Professor prepared to begin the lesson. I watched as he walked towards his desk before calling out, "I'll talk to you later!"

This time, even our Professor, glanced my way and I could only look away in embarrassment. Clearing my throat abruptly, I looked back to my bag and continued to pull my things out. Once the eyes on me had slowly shifted back towards the front of the class, I finally lifted my head. Only it was now someone else's turn to bother me.

Everett reached out to nudge me again and when I turned towards him, he leaned in close to whisper to me, "What the hell did I just watch?"

"Your own business, I'd hope," I muttered pointedly.

"What's going on with you and Potter?" he pressed, and I rolled my eyes for him to see.

"Absolutely nothing. At least not what you're thinking."

"So, there _is_ something going on?" he demanded pointedly, lowering his breath as our professor actually started to teach the class.

"We just met at a wedding and found out our dads work together. Ok?"

"So why –"

"Will you be quiet?" I hissed, turning towards him with what he called my bitch face. It was enough to have him drawing away from me.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

In the weeks that followed, it continued to surprise me whenever Potter approached me. And he _did_ approach me often. More often then I expected him to and especially whenever I was around my friends – as if he had no idea what kind of rumours his sudden appearance would create. But the smirk on his face whenever he left me, told me otherwise.

So, when Professor Zabini announced to the entire class that he wanted us to switch partners, I was only mildly surprised when Potter walked across the room to stand in front of my desk. Casting a parting wave towards Everett, I looked back to Potter with a raised eyebrow. He just grinned, settling his bag on the table, pulling his chair out.

"You heard what Zabini said," Potter declared, sitting down next to me. "He said partners you wouldn't normally work with – we all know that means someone from a different house."

"You're like a piece of gum I can't scrape off my shoe," I said, watching as he frowned at my words. "Who knew that me calling you my acquaintance would have you sticking to my side so often?"

"That's why you should be more careful with your words," he warned. Glancing towards the board, I watched as Professor Zabini wrote a page number onto the board. Flicking to the right page in my textbook, I cast a glance towards Potter when he nudged me with his elbow.

"What?"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"As if you'll ever let me." Glancing curiously towards him, I watched as he flicked lazily through his textbook. "Besides, I actually need to pay attention to this lesson. It might surprise you, but potions doesn't exactly come easily to me."

"Why would that surprise me?" He snorted, shooting a glance my way. "In first year your potion exploded and whilst you managed to dodge out of the way – I was sat behind you and ended up eing sent to the hospital wing."

I stared disbelievingly at him, "That's such a lie."

Potter let out an incredulous breath, turning in his seat towards me. "It's the truth Guaman – Merlin, how could you not know that you sent me to the hospital wing? Were you really so oblivious to my presence? Did I mean nothing to you?"

"Were you supposed to mean something to me?" I asked hesitantly.

"Forget I asked," he muttered, shaking his head before glancing back to his open textbook. I watched as his eyes looked over the recipe as he assured me, "Unlike _someone,_ I happen to be good at potions, so you don't need to worry. I'll do all of the work – you can just sit there and watch me work. Maybe even fall for me while you do."

"Oh please," I said with an incredulous scoff, even as a small smile played around the corner of my mouth. "It's because you keeping searching me out and saying things like that, that my friends –"

"Your friends, what?" he asked, glancing curiously towards me when I cut myself off suddenly.

I found myself hesitating, suddenly unsure of whether telling him would be the right thing or not. Noticing the hesitance, Potter gestured for me to speak. "They think that you've got a thing for me, Potter."

My words had him stilling in his seat, and my eyes widened at the sudden change in him. Turning towards him, I waited for him to laugh suddenly, to make fun of me for even _thinking_ about something so stupid. But he didn't.

Instead, he turned to face me, leaning in towards me. Swallowing thickly, I drew further away from him. Rowena, he still wasn't pulling away. Unable to hold his eyes any longer, I looked away from him and had the unfortunate luck of meeting Professor Zabini's eyes. The normally stoic man was smirking outright at the pair of us and I cleared my throat abruptly. Looking back to Potter, I roughly shoved at his shoulder.

Potter took the hint, moving away from me and smirked as I straightened up in my seat. "Why are you looking at me like that Potter?"

"Want to know something interesting, Guaman?" he asked offhandedly as he rose to his feet.

"What?" I questioned a little apprehensively when his smirk only grew. "What is it, Potter?"

"You're curious about my private life now." His gleeful voice had me staring at him in surprise.

"So, what about it?"

" _Acquaintances_ aren't curious about each other's private lives – Merlin, some friends aren't even curious about each other's personal lives."

"What are you blabbering on about?" I spluttered.

"You've just admitted we're not acquaintances, maybe not even _just friends_."

And with an infuriating grin, he headed off to gather the ingredients for the potion. I watched his retreating back for a moment longer before scoffing and turning in my seat to set up the cauldron for the potion. Merlin, who did he think he was? Making all sorts of _stupid_ assumptions about what I thought of him –

It was just ridiculous – downright ridiculous! How could we both be more than friends if I'd only _just_ admitted that he was slightly more than an acquaintance to me? Bloody Gryffindors –

"Are you busy thinking about me?" he piped up suddenly appearing beside me as I finally lit the cauldron. Throwing him a dirty look, I turned away from him with a frown when he laughed, putting the ingredients down on the table. "Seeing how you haven't said anything, I'm going to take that as a yes."

"Even if I said something, you'd still think that," I shot back.

"That sounds like denial to me!"

"Merlin, you're unbelievable –"

"- unbelievably perfect. Yeah, I know."

* * *

The best way to relax after a stressful week of lessons while balancing the need to sleep and completing essays was a trip into Hogsmeade. The small town provided a much-needed stress-free environment and there was nothing better than losing yourself in the chatter of the students as they walked through the street. As was tradition, the entirety of the sixth year Ravenclaws had occupied a corner of the Three Broomsticks as we complained to our heart's content about how heartless our Professors were. Some of the teachers seemed to expect more of us because we were the 'smart' house – but there was more than one type of intelligence. Academic intelligence wasn't the only type that counted!

Once we ran out of things to complain about, we separated and headed our own ways to explore the rest of the village. But, as it always did, the anxiety began to creep in as we remembered the unfinished pieces of work waiting for us in our dorms. And, just like that, one by one we were headed back to the castle.

As I walked with Everett at my side, I listened to him as he worried aloud about his unfinished Astronomy essay. He glanced towards me as he voiced his problems with finding himself unable to correctly finish the conclusion of his report. Rowena, I had no clue why he was looking to me for help; I hadn't even _started_ the Transfiguration essay that was due next Wednesday, and I still had my potions essay to finish for tomorrow –

Suddenly remembering the sheer amount of work I had left to do, my palms began to sweat at the instant boost of stress. Linking my arm through Everett's, I struggled not to pull him alongside me as I set off in a run back to the castle. But I didn't run – because I didn't have the stamina to make it back to school.

"Let's just hurry back," I mumbled, sharing a look with Everett who nodded wholeheartedly at my words.

"But you'll have to deal with _him_ first." Everett gestured towards someone and I followed the motion to find Potter approaching me.

Removing my arm from Everett's, I watched with mild surprise as Potter stopped in front of me and shuffled awkwardly on his feet. The small gesture, easily missed, was so out of character for him that I actually turned towards Everett and asked quietly, "Can you give us some space?"

Very reluctantly, he obliged and walked away from us. But he remained close enough to listen to every word. Nosey bugger.

Regardless of the obvious listening ear, I took a step closer to Potter and reached out to put a hand on his arm. He looked down at it like the contact had shaken him to his core and I furrowed my eyebrows. Merlin, something was very wrong with him.

"Potter?" I called out tentatively, resisting the urge to take another step towards him. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head slowly, assuring me, "Nothing's wrong, Guaman."

Like I was going to be stupid enough to believe that. But, knowing that he'd have confided in me if he wanted to, I settled for just asking, "Are you sure?"

He nodded again, and I resigned myself to not knowing. Pressing the matter would likely just irritate him. Clearing his throat quietly, Potter glanced away from me for a moment before asking, "Are you heading back to the castle then?"

"I think we'd been here for long enough," I explained. "We should probably head back."

"Are you sure you don't want to head in for a drink?" his offer was hesitantly finished with a small smile. "My treat?"

"Maybe next time?" Smiling thankfully at him, I tried not to notice the way the corners of his mouth turned down slightly for a moment. "Thanks for the offer Potter, but I've got an essay that I need to finish."

Potter nodded to himself, tucking his hands into his pockets. His shoulders sunk slightly, and I tried my best not to think that he was very clearly retreating further into himself. Merlin, I wanted to ask him what was wrong but if he really wanted me to know then he'd have told me. Even as I rationalised it, the question was on the tip of my tongue. I almost asked it anyway when he straightened up again to give me a small smile.

"I guess I'll see you later, then?"

"We've got Potions tomorrow," I reminded him quietly with a smile.

Potter just nodded again, turning to walk away from me to join his cousin who was waiting for him. By the time I glanced away, Everett was at my side and shook his head incredulously at me.

"What?" I questioned defensively.

"You _do_ realise that Potter was trying to ask you out, don't you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as we continued on our path to the castle.

Scoffing, I tried not to roll my eyes. "Of course, he wasn't."

"For someone so smart, you sure are an idiot at times."

Throwing Everett, a dirty look, I sighed. "Be reasonable for a minute – out of all the girls in the castle, why would he ask _me_ out? Me – the one who's never shown even one iota of interest in him? Besides, could you not tell that he obviously had something going on?"

"And that something was that he was so nervous he was trying not to piss himself."

"Would you stop it?" Nudging Everett with my elbow, I resisted the urge to drag him the rest of the way back. "Now hurry up, I have an essay to finish."

"If your essay was _so_ important, why did you come out to Hogsmeade anyway."

"First of all, I _didn't_ want to come to Hogsmeade in the first place. You forced me out to act as a barrier between you and Mandy's groping hands." Everett shifted slightly at the reminder of the uncomfortable truth. "You should've seen the death glares the witch kept throwing my way. If anything happens to me overnight, just know that it was because _you_ were too cowardly to tell her to piss off."

"I'm just too nice," he insisted, and I snorted.

"Yeah – that it. You're just too _nice_."

* * *

White weddings were always a trend and they appealed more to some people then they did to others. My elder sister found the idea so appealing that she'd chosen to forgo her original idea of a summer wedding instead to host on in the middle of winter. Apparently, the snow covering the landscape made it all the more romantic. I wasn't sure if I agreed with her, but I _was_ sure that helping her with her wedding made for one very stressful Christmas holiday.

My entire holiday had been spent making sure that the event – a highly over the top one – went off without a hitch. Merlin, I'd never known that there were so many parts of the wedding that could possibly go wrong. I knew my sister well enough to know that if anything _did_ go wrong, then she'd likely have a breakdown halfway down the aisle. That would _not_ do. As a result, I had to always be ahead of the game and, once she'd finally made it down the aisle no one breathed out a larger relieved sigh than I did.

With the ceremony finally over with, I had planned on hiding in some corner of the reception to get some much-needed rest. But of course, even that was too much to ask for. I was currently avoiding a _much_ too handsy groomsman.

My now brother-in-law had the _brilliant_ idea of asking one of his cousins to be one of his groomsmen, so I wasn't feeling awkward as I was escorted down the aisle. If I'd had a time turner on hand I'd have used it to go back far enough to smack him before he could even _begin_ to make that suggestion – regardless of the damage that travelling that far back was likely to do to me. At least that way I wouldn't be stuck navigating through the room full of guests whilst casting wary glances over my shoulder every few seconds.

"Guaman!" The sudden exclamation of my surname had me screeching to a halt as I eagerly sought out the _very_ welcome voice. Turning towards James, I watched with a relieved smile as he approached me, "Why do you look so worried? Aren't you supposed to have fun at your sister's wedding?"

I reacted before I thought. Reaching out to take his hand between both of mine, I didn't even bother to pay attention to the way the slight contact had him freezing, smile faltering for a moment. No, I was too busy lowering my voice as I begged, "Save me?"

James's eyes flickered curiously over my shoulder before he drew back a little to meet my eyes. "Handsy groomsman?"

My answering nod was all he needed to whisk me onto the dance floor where other couples had stepped out to join the bride and groom in a slow dance. With very little hesitation I wrapped my arms around his neck and swayed side to side with the music. Looking very quickly over my shoulder at the obviously dissuaded groomsman, I turned back to James with a very thankful grin. He returned it with a small smile of his own, one that wasn't his normal one.

I watched him in concern for a moment before clearing my throat and deciding to try and take his mind off of whatever it was that was clearly eating away at him.

"You know," I began contemplatively, "I've heard stories about your father's dancing. Am I going to regret this dance?"

"That's one thing I didn't inherit from him," James assured me with a larger smile than before and I couldn't help but smile in return.

The dance floor, now full of couples, was packed and I had to press closer to James to let another couple squeeze past. He sucked in a very audible breath and I tilted my head back to meet his eyes. Furrowing my eyebrows at the way he suddenly carried all his tension in his shoulders, I bit my bottom lip hesitantly.

"James," I called out in concern.

"It's nothing," he insisted, answering the question I hadn't needed to voice.

But I didn't believe him. How could I when he continued to act in a way that was so completely out of character with the normal way he behaved? Moving to draw away from him, it was my turn to stiffen when he kept me held against him with a firm hand against the small of my back. Instead of trying to pull away from him again, I just stared up at him in silent curiosity. It wouldn't remain silent for much longer.

"What's really going on?" I questioned quietly. "You've been behaving strangely for a while now."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Of course I do."

He sighed before murmuring, "Fine, but promise not to look at me?"

"James –"

The hand at the small of my back pushed more firmly against me, encouraging me to move closer to him and I did without a word. James, now speaking at my ear, insisted, "I won't have the courage to say it otherwise. Do you promise?"

"I promise," I murmured, the words heavy.

James let out a long breath before nodding to himself. "Ok, here goes nothing – I like you Guaman. And it's so strange because I've liked girls before so nothing about this should be new to me. But it is; I've never felt quite this way before. I should have known that it wouldn't be a normal crush when I became so adamant to become more than your bloody acquaintance."

He paused for a moment as if trying to think of how to continue and I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth. Merlin, what was I supposed to say to that? Thinking for a moment, I went to pull away from him, but he just wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me where I was.

"You promised," he reminded me, and I let out a breath, nodding obligingly. "The reason that I keep acting like an idiot is because I'm bending over backwards to ask you out without making it obvious. It was stupid, but I thought that if I acted like that and you rejected me, I could always spin it around and make some joke about you getting ahead of yourself."

"James," I tried to interject again only for him to speak over me.

"I've only just gone and confused you about everything." James paused again, and I tried not to tighten my hold on him. Merlin, surely, he wasn't – "I think it's time I acted bravely for once and spoke honestly about the way I feel."

Just as the music changed, James removed his arms from around me. Dropping them back to his side, he pulled away from me and finally met my eyes. He held them for a long moment before speaking quietly, his words almost lost amongst the upbeat tune of the music.

"So can't you like me too?"

And as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell, he tucked his hands into his trouser pockets before turning on his heels to walk away. I stared at his retreating back for a moment, trying to wrap my mind around everything.

"Fuck it," I swore to myself, lifting the hem of my dress slightly as I hurried after him with quick steps.

Mirroring each of his steps, I tried to weave through the crowd and almost caught up to him. But a sudden swarm of running children had me losing track of the Gryffindor and he was lost amongst the dozens of wedding guests. Releasing my hold on my dress with a sigh, I tried to scan the room for him but there just no sign of him.

* * *

When it was time to return to Hogwarts for the Easter term, I already knew the first thing I was going to do when we reached the castle. I was going to find James bloody Potter and demand that he return my sanity to me because did he not even think about his declaration was going affect my sanity? Clearly, he hadn't and now I had a bone to pick with him. Even if that did mean barging into Gryffindor tower to find the fool. Merlin, I was so tempted to search the entire train just to find him and give him a piece of my mind.

I managed to squash the urge to do so and instead settled into the carriage with my friends as the trolley lady stopped outside the carriage. But I wasn't feeling peckish, so I glanced away from her, only for my eyes to settle onto the boy being served. And just like that I was on my feet and excusing myself for a moment. Trailing behind James as he headed back towards his train compartment, I hurried my footsteps, so I didn't lose him. Not this time.

Catching up to him, I captured his arm between my hands. James, startled by the sudden contact, turned curiously towards me only to pull his arm away quickly. His shoulders tensed, and I watched him take shuffling steps away from me to put some space between us. Licking his bottom lip nervously, he hesitated before opening his mouth as if to say something. But I wasn't going to give him the privilege. It was his turn to listen to _me_.

"How could you just do that?" I demanded so suddenly that he snapped his mouth shut, trying to understand what my ambiguous words could possibly mean. "I mean, who runs away after saying something like that? I thought you were going to be brave? Running away is hardly being brave." Crossing my arms, I resisted the urge to tap my feet as I waited for his answer. "Well?"

Silence. Of _bloody_ course.

Even as I tried to fight the need to smile, I muttered, "Who knew this was the one way of getting you to actually shut up for once?" The words were enough to have James trying not to smile. But still, the imbecile didn't speak a word. Rolling my eyes, I asked slowly, "How could you just run away before giving me the chance to answer you, or even to _think_ about what answer to give you?"

Meeting my unimpressed eyes, James ducked his head a little before _finally_ deciding to speak up. His words were slow and riddled with confusion, "I have no idea what you're trying to tell me Guaman so if you're expecting me to read between the lines, then give it up. I'm slower than you'd believe. You'll need to spell it out clearly."

"You're assuming that I think you possess a brain somewhere in that thick skull of yours." With a sigh, I dropped my shoulders before speaking plainly, "Look, it's still too early for me to know whether I like you back or not – Merlin knows how you managed to fall so quickly."

"It must be because you're so special," he piped up suddenly with a growing grin. It only widened when he saw the way I rolled my eyes. "So, what is it then? You're not sure if you like me?"

"That's right." Before he even began to get annoyed at how indecisive I was being, I added, "But I _am_ attracted to you – I can definitely say that. And not just physically at that. It'll take some time for me to figure out what that means and if it's anything deeper."

"That's enough for now then," he said through laughter. Leaning in suddenly to press a kiss to my cheek, he met my eyes with an easy smile. Straightening up to his full height, he ordered, "Just stick to my side from now on. I'll have you falling for me in no time."

"You sound awfully confident in yourself," I muttered dryly, eyeing him with obvious amusement.

"I am." He nodded, thinking for a moment. "I give you two weeks – maybe even a month at most."


	2. Epilogue: 1 Year Later

_1 YEAR LATER_

I should have known that James accepting the position of Head Boy would only lead to him abusing his power. But I hadn't expected him to do it whilst being quite so obvious about it. Merlin, the irritating man had arranged all of our patrols together and, when I went behind his back, to switch some patrols with the Head Girl, he had thrown an almighty strop about it. Quite why he scheduled so many shared patrols I didn't know. Merlin, it was just another hour or so of walking around the castle and catching any of the students who were out past curfew.

Looking down at our joined hands as we walked, I turned to the boy beside me as he searched the corridors for any students. I tried not to roll my eyes; Rowena, he was acting as if he was actually going to take points from them. We both knew he'd give the students a warning at most and Merlin forbid we ran into one of his family members – in those cases he'd actually tell them how to avoid getting caught next time. I could simply shake my head in disbelief as I stood beside him.

"Why on earth do you keep scheduling all of these late-night patrols?" I grumbled under my breath. "If you wanted to explore the castle so late in the night, you can do it without me."

"But that's not as fun," he whined, tightening his hold on my hand as if he thought I was going to pull away from him.

"Yeah whatever you scaredy cat." Throwing him a look, I tried not to smile when I noticed just how offended my calling him a 'scaredy cat' made him. "We both know that you're too scared to patrol on your own. You could have just made the Head Girl your partner."

He scrunched his nose in distaste, rolling his eyes. "She's a complete pain in the arse – I have no plan of being around her for longer than I have to be."

"She's your partner."

"So what if she is?" he exclaimed incredulously, stopping in his step and turning to face me. His eyebrows rose as he insisted, "You have no idea what she's like. I swear when she's not trying to butt heads with me, she's making a move on me."

"She is?" I echoed in surprise.

"Yes!" He nodded animatedly, before catching himself. James crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at me as he wondered, "Are you jealous?"

"Should I be?"

"Should you be?" he repeated as if he couldn't believe what I'd just said. I mean, it was a valid question wasn't it? If it was all one-sided, then what reason did I have to be jealous? "I tell you that the Head Girl is making moves on me and you're not even jealous? Are you sure you like me Guaman?"

"Don't be so ridiculous James," I said with a sigh, crossing my arms. "This would only be a problem if you like her back. Do you?"

He practically recoiled I shock as he spluttered, "How can you even ask that? Do you not know how I feel about you?"

"And that is exactly why I don't need to worry," I insisted as I patted his shoulder before beginning to walk again, carrying on with our patrol route. James followed after me, coming to my side with a pout on his face. "Merlin, what _now_?"

"I still think you were robbed of the position," he confessed suddenly, and I tried not to shift uncomfortably at the sudden words, shooting a look towards James who didn't seem to notice anything. "You should have been Head Girl; honestly, what was McGonagall thinking?"

I didn't answer him; because how could I without lying to him? The truth was that I _had_ been offered the Head Girl position on the same day that James had been given the Head Boy role. Whilst James had accepted instantly and written to me to share the news, I had hesitated. Not only was the responsibility too much for me to handle, but I knew that if I had to work together with James, share a dorm with him and just be around him for almost 24 hours a day, we'd fail as the Head couple. We'd be the least productive Head Boy and Head Girl in the history of the school. So really it benefitted everyone when I declined the position, one that I'd never wanted anyway.

James, taking my silence to mean something it really didn't, reached out to wrap an arm around my waist. Pulling me into his side, he looked down at me with a gentle smile as he promised, "Don't worry, I'll get rid of her."

Barely resisting the urge to confess the truth to him, I asked dryly, "How exactly are you going to manage that?"

"Bugging her until she voluntarily leaves the position," he said as if it was an ingenious idea.

Scoffing aloud, I smacked his arm away from around me. "Don't even think about it."

"But why not?" he protested, reaching out for me again.

"I don't even want to be Head Girl," I admitted, dodging his arms as they reached out to me again.

The sudden confession startled him slightly, but he was back to follow after me as I walked quickly down the hallway. Hurrying after me, James called my name loudly as I continued to ignore him. He paid no attention to the way the portraits were being forced awake by the sound of his voice and started to complain loudly. Merlin, knowing our luck the Professors would wake up from the sound and come to investigate.

Shooting James a look over my shoulder, I narrowed my eyes warningly at him. But the clueless fool only began to speak _even_ louder. Deciding to take drastic measures, I fumbled around inside my robe pocket for my wand and silenced him. His mouth dropped open in surprise and I had to bite my bottom lip to stop my smile. It was his turn to narrow his eyes at me, but I just giggled in response.

"I'll remove it in the morning," I promised making him splutter incredulously at me.


End file.
